Biblical narratives come to life on stage

Tonight, a group will bring scripture to life in a performance to help fund a trip to New York.

“The Rock and The Rabbi” is a musical that Assistant Professor of Business Jody Jones introduced to Oklahoma Christian University several years back.

“It’s a show that I saw 10 years ago for the first time,” Jones said. “And four years ago we were looking for fundraising ideas, so we brought this in. Last summer the guy who owns the show called and said they wanted to come back.”

Jones and the accounting and finance club are raising money to be able to fund their trip to the Winnipeg Game Conference in New York. However, not all the profits will go to this club alone.

“There are three groups that are benefitting from the show,” Jones said. “Some of the funds will go to the accounting and finance club. The students from the theater department and the political science students will also receive funds.”

The story may be interesting to some because it narrates the relationship of Jesus and Peter, primarily from Peter’s perspective.

“It’s a series of song and narration,” Jones said. “It’s a unique way to tell the story. It’s told in a way that most people haven’t heard before, and it’s very scripturally sound.”

The tickets for the show will be on sale at the box office, and prices vary depending on how close the seats are to the stage.

“The tickets will be $15, $20, and $25,” Jones said. “However, students get a $9 discount while faculty and staff will get a $5 discount.”

There will be 16 students going on the trip to New York, and they are all very determined to make the show a success so they can reach their goal. One of these students is senior accounting major Breanna Smith.

“The bookstore will be selling tickets, and we’re also doing online sales,” Smith said. “On the day of the performance we will be selling them at the ticket booths; so we’ll be taking tickets and ushering people in.”

At the conference, there will be many different major corporate executives present to aid business, accounting and finance students with future career objectives.

“It’s a networking type thing, and there will be schools from all over the world coming to the conference,” Smith said. “The first day you’re in a huge conference room with tables lined up, and you’re just listening to speakers all day. They also have a panel afterwards that allows students to ask them questions. It’s a great experience.”

Smith and the other 15 students have all paid $400 of their own money toward the trip, and are hopeful that the rest of the trip will be funded through other means.

“The school of business supplied some of the money, and with the production we’re hoping to make $1,000 for our club alone,” Smith said. “We’ve also asked SGA for some money.”

Jones has invited many people, including alumni of Oklahoma Christian, to come and see the show.

“We have people coming from different states to come and see this play,” Smith said. “Since we’ve done it here before, Jody sent out emails to the list of people that came to see the show the first time. The first time it was here, people came to see it that had already [seen] it elsewhere.”

According to Smith, the accounting and finance club would more than likely have to create another fundraising activity in order to raise enough money for the trip.

“If we don’t raise enough money, some of us may not be able to go, and we’ve already booked everything,” Smith said. “We would also have to pay more money out of pocket, and that also means some of us would no longer be able to go. There are only three of us out of the 16 people that have gone before, so everyone is really excited about this trip.”

According to senior Melanie Scifers, it is a show that everyone should go and see.

“I saw it freshman year,” Scifers said. “It was one of those things where you go to get extra credit for some Bible class. I remember sitting in there watching it and thinking ‘Wow. This is actually really good. This isn’t a waste of my life.’”

Scifers said it’s not just another bible lesson.

“It’s performed in such a way that you’re not thinking ‘We’re talking about the Bible again,’” Scifers said. “We go to a Christian college and we get the Bible drilled into us all of the time; sometimes you don’t feel like learning it anymore.”

The show will run tonight at 7 p.m. and tomorrow at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m.

“Go and see the show,” Smith said. “It’s going to be really amazing. It’s showing three times, so you have plenty of opportunities to go.”